A draw will do for India’s men’s national team to grab the prize as they take on the Kyrgyz Republic in the last Tri-nation friendly in Manipur.
IND vs KGZ Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Time: 18:00 (IST)
Venue: Khuman Lampak Stadium, Imphal
TV/ Stream Details: Star Sports 3 & Star Sports 3 HD / Disney+ & Jio TV
IND vs KGZ Match Preview
It will be a brilliant way to cap off the first international window for the men’s national team if they make it back-to-back wins in this Tri-nation cup with a victory against Kyrgyz Republic although a point will do. However, the fans and head coach Igor Stimac will be wishing for three points on Tuesday after India beat Myanmar 1-0 in the first friendly on a historic night for Manipur. Anirudh Thapa scored the only goal of the game that saw the Blue Tigers not taking opportunities that fell to them and were also unlucky with some of the dodgy offside calls made by the linesman. Amrinder Singh also had to come up with a few saves to deny Myanmar a way to come back in the match even though those were not clear-cut chances. A full house is expected again as India now turn their attention to the next game which everyone touted to be the most difficult one of the two friendlies.
Kyrgyz Republic played a 1-1 draw against Myanmar, equalizing with almost the last kick of the game after the opponents scored in the 82nd minute of the match. As it stands, the 94th-ranked nation in FIFA will have to beat the hosts to stand a chance to win the trophy. Manager Aleksandr Krestinin will therefore urge his side to throw everything on the pitch to end the tournament on a high. India should be aware of the physicality the side brings to the table although the Blue Tigers beat the White Falcons by 2-1 in the qualifiers for the 2019 Men’s Asian Cup the last time they played at home. However, Krestinin is not looking at past results to determine the encounter as it will be a completely new game. Hence, Sunil Chhetri and co have to be careful not to make the fans unhappy by playing their A game with an improvement from the last showing.
IND vs KGZ Team News
India has called up Sahal Abdul Samad to the national camp after Manvir Singh picked up an injury during the sessions for the match. Head coach Igor Stimac will try to give time to most of the players in the squad in this last friendly of this international window so rotation is expected. However, the Kyrgyz Republic is likely to stick with the starting eleven that played a draw against Myanmar.
IND vs KGZ Predicted Lineups
IND: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Pritam Kotal, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra; Suresh Wangjam, Brandon Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sunil Chhetri, Naorem Mahesh.
KGZ: Erzhan Tokotaev; Zhyrgalbek Uulu Kairat, Tamirlan Kozubaev, Ayzar Akmatov, Aleksandr Mishchenko; Alimardon Shukurov, Erbol Atabaev; Sherali Yuldashev, Kai Merk, Raul Dzhalilov; Gulzhigit Alykulov.
IND vs KGZ Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Gurpreet (8)
DEF: Mischenko (7), Akmatov (6.5), Jhingan (8), Mishra (7)
MID: Chhangte (9), Yuldashev (8), Thapa (8), Brandon (8)
FW: Alykulov (7.5), Chhetri (9)
Vice-captain: Lallianzuala Chhangte
Captain: Sunil Chhetri
